26 
POPLAR OR TULIP TREE. 
Within this sac is found another, which, after the first leaf is put forth, 
swells, bursts, and gives birth to a second. On young and vigorous trees, 
5 or 6 leaves issue successively in this manner from one sac. Till the leaf 
has acquired half its growth, it retains the two lobes which composed its 
sac, and which arg now called stipules. 
In the spring, when the weather is ’warm and humid, the growth of the 
leaves is very rapid : they are 6' or 8 inches broad, borne on long petioles, 
alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth, and of a pleasing green color. They 
are divided into three lobes, of which the middle one is horizontally notched 
at its summit, and the two lower ones- are rounded at the base. This con- 
formation is peculiar to the Tulip Tree, and renders it easily distinguish- 
able in the summer. The flowers, which are large,, brilliant, and on de- 
tached trees very numerous, are variegated with different colors, among 
which yellow predominates : they have an agreeable odor, and, Surrounded 
by luxuriant foliage, they produce a fine effect. In the spring, they are- 
gathered by women and children in the neighbourhood. of New York, and 
sold in the market of that city. 
The fruit is composed of a great number of thin, narrow scales, attached 
to a common axis, and forming a cone 2 or 3 inches in length. Each cone 
consists of 60 or 70 seeds, of which never more than a third, and some 
seasons not more than 7 or 8 in the whole number, are productive. It is 
also observed that during ten years after it begins to yield fruit, almost all 
the seeds of the Tulip Tree are unproductive, and that, on large trees, the 
seeds'from the highest branches are the best. 
The bark, till the trunk exceeds 7 or 8 inches in diameter, is smooth 
and even ; it afterwards begins to crack, and the depth of the furrow- and' 
the .thickness of the bark are proportioned to the size and to the age - of 
the tree. 
The heart or perfect wood of the Tulip Tree is yellow, approaching to 
a lemon color, and its sapor alburnum is white. Though this tree is 
classed as a light wood, it is inhch heavier than the Poplars; its grain is 
equally fine, and more, compact, and the wood is easily wrought and polishes 
well. It is found strong and stiff enough for uses that require great soli- 
dity. The heart, when separated from the ,sap and perfectly seasoned, long 
resists the influence of the sir, and is said to be rarely attacked by worms. 
Its greatest defect, when employed in wide boards and exposed to the 
weather, is that it is liable to shrink and warp by the alternations of dry- 
ness and ' moisture : but this defect is in a great measure compensated by 
its other properties. The nature of the soil has so striking an- influence 
upon the color and upon the quality of the Tulip wood, that the mechanics 
who employ it have made the remark, and have distinguished it by the 
names of White Poplar and Yéllow Poplar. The external appearances 
which mark these varieties are so- equivocal, that it can be ascertained to 
